By Andy Marston, Sports Pundit
R360, a proposed breakaway global rugby league, has been unveiled with former England star Mike Tindall, ex-Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper, and IPL and LIV Golf architect John Loffhagen, among its founding team.
The format follows a “grand prix” model: 12 franchises (8 men’s, 4 women’s) travelling to 16 global venues including the Nou Camp and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The calendar proposes April–June and August–September windows to complement international fixtures and reposition rugby as a summer sport.
Over 300 of the world’s top players are being targeted, with heads of agreement reportedly signed by dozens already, contingent on full funding by September.
The league has drawn franchise interest from team owners across NFL, F1, and global investor groups, and aims to prioritise innovation and gender equity.
Why It Matters:
This won’t necessarily solve all of rugby’s problems overnight, from concussion and load management to calendar congestion and media rights fragmentation.
But as LIV Golf has shown, a bold challenger can catalyse change that incumbents wouldn’t otherwise make.
Whether R360 immediately has all the answers or not, its presence could force the traditional powers in rugby to modernise faster and rethink what the sport could be, especially for younger, global audiences.
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